Snapshots from 'Junkyard Dog'
by Gumnut
Summary: Seen and unseen scenes from 'Junkyard Dog'. INCOMPLETE
1. Immersion

Title: Immersion

Title: Immersion  
Series: Snapshots from 'Junkyard Dog' No.1  
Author: Gumnut  
Fandom: Knight Rider  
Characters: Kitt  
Challenge: Elfin challenged me I guess  
Rating: PG  
Summary: Michael, help me!  
Word count: 563  
Spoilers & warnings: Season 3  
Disclaimer: Mine? You gotta be kidding. Money? Don't have any, don't bother.  
Author's notes: Most of this is directly off the episode of Junkyard Dog. Be patient and I will come up with more stuff, I promise :D

Immersion  
Snapshots from 'Junkyard Dog' No. 2  
By Gumnut  
31 Dec 2006

"Kitt, we've got problems. Get in here!"

"Right away, Michael." Kitt hit the ignition and his wheels spun in the dirt. The barbed wire fence surrounding the waste disposal facility was little more than a blip on his scanner as he tore through it, his sensors clawing the area, fixing Michael's position and the danger the situation presented. He quickly caught sight of Fran as she struggled with one of the guards. Three others appeared from inside one of the sheds and noting their intentions Kitt darted to intercept. Cornering two of them, he made them well aware of his engine and the implications should they choose to disobey him. "Going somewhere, fellas?" He flashed his scanner at them threateningly.

He kept track of his driver, who was finishing off the man who had attacked Fran. Kitt was about to call out to him when the one guy the AI had missed suddenly decked Michael hard. Disposing of the two in front of his fender the AI moved to assist.

But with his sensors trained on his driver, assessing his condition, he failed to realise the importance of the movement off to his left. Before he could react, a tractor had him, lifting his wheels off the ground and removing any ability to manoeuvre.

"Michael!"

He vaguely heard his driver answer, but Kitt was too busy. He threw out a microjam desperately attempting to halt the tractor's progress. His sensors gave him intimate knowledge of where the tractor was trying to throw him. But the microjam had no effect. Lightning fast analysis failed to tell him why. He spun his wheels.

"Michael! Help me!"

His grappling hook shot out the back, but the unfamiliar jostling of his position caused him to miss his target of the nearest building, and the hook fell uselessly to one side. On the verge of panic, Kitt tried his turbo boost rockets, firing them repeatedly and equally ineffectually against the prongs of the behemoth that had him.

And then he was in the acid. Panic overrode everything. He knew what these chemicals were capable of, he knew what protected him and what he was capable of...the equation was simple. "Michael! Help me!"

His sensors screamed, their sensitivity equalled by their vulnerability. He called to his partner. Please. "Michael! Help me!"

"Kitt!"

Michael was there! "Michael!" His partner staggered to a stop beside the pit and Kitt realised that there was nothing the man could do. In fact he was in danger. The chemicals... "Michael!" No, stay back! "Michael!"

Michael seemed to realise this too, stumbling at the edge. "I can't, buddy, I can't."

Kitt had no purchase, no means to escape as he sunk into the mire. He was left pinning his attention on Michael as each of his external sensors shut down. Blind panic crawled into his processor and he called out to his driver again. "Michael!"

Please help me.

Seals that were supposed to be watertight began to feel the pressure. He reached out and grappled with the image of his driver, desperately clinging to the bank. "Mi-c-l." No, stay back.

Help me.

Michael.

"I'll be back, Kitt. I'll be back." As the slime crept up and over his scanner blotting out the visual spectrum, his driver left him, stumbling away, half dragged by the woman with him who couldn't understand.

Michael.

The acid hissed.

Michael.

-o-o-o-


	2. Running

Title: Running

Title: Running  
Series: Snapshots from 'Junkyard Dog' No.2  
Author: Gumnut  
Fandom: Knight Rider  
Characters: Michael  
Challenge: Elfin challenged me I guess  
Rating: PG  
Summary: Kitt!  
Word count: 556  
Spoilers & warnings: Season 3  
Disclaimer: Mine? You gotta be kidding. Money? Don't have any, don't bother.  
Author's notes: Most of this is directly off the episode of Junkyard Dog. Be patient and I will come up with more stuff, I promise :D

Running  
Snapshots from 'Junkyard Dog' No. 3  
By Gumnut  
1 Jan 2007

"Hey! You! What do you think you're doing in here?"

Michael started, almost dropping the file in his hands, but it only took him a second to realise that the voice wasn't interested in him at all, but in someone else. He made it to the window of the office, only to discover that any hope of a quiet in and out operation had just been flushed down the toilet. Fran, camera in hand, was struggling with guard.

Damn.

"Kitt, we've got problems. Get in here!"

At Kitt's affirmative, he threw the window up and clambered through. More voices yelled in surprise as the alarm was raised. The sound of tyres spinning in the dirt and crippled chainlink fencing followed Michael across the compound and he grabbed the woman's attacker just as she managed to bite her way out of his grasp. Michael made sure he diverted his attention.

The guy spun around and fought back, but the FLAG operative ducked, pivoting on one foot before throwing the definitive punch, knocking the guy out cold.

But another guard grabbed him from behind, shoving him into a stack of metal barrels. His head connected with something hard and he saw stars. Flailing at the guy blindly for a moment, he took one in the stomach for his efforts, but his head steadied enough for him to get in one of his own and his assailant fell to one side, giving Michael the opportunity to regain his feet. He made sure he didn't lose them again, the guard joining his partner in the dust.

"Michael!"

He looked up, getting his bearings, to find the Trans Am suspended above the waste pit in the claws of some junkyard nightmare. Wha-? Oh god. "Kitt!"

He didn't think, he ran.

"Michael! Help me!"

He headed in the direction of the tractor, intending to take out the driver, but he was too late. The behemoth let the car go and Kitt fell into the mire. Oh god.

"Michael! Help me!"

The putrid stinking mess crawled up the sides of he car as Michael staggered to a halt at the edge of the pit. "Kitt!' He couldn't reach him. The fumes stung his eyes as his fingers brushed against the surface of the chemical, the sizzle of dissolving gloves and the pain of burning nerve endings halting his headlong dive. "I can't, buddy, I can't." His mind clambered for possible solutions and came up completely blank. Kitt was fast disappearing under the surface. He couldn't do a damn thing!

"Michael!"

And then there was barking and yelling and Fran was pulling on his arm. Oh god, Kitt.

"We've got to get going!"

God, he had to go. "I'll be back. I'll be back."

But he couldn't leave Kitt behind! He struggled with Fran, who continued to pull on his arm. "C'mon! C'mon!" The junkyard filled with more voices, more lights flickered on and the barking closed on their position.

He had to go.

Kitt!

The AI's voice was garbled, still calling his name.

He had to go! "I'll be back. I'll be back."

Bonnie. Devon. Michael couldn't do anything, but they could. And it was that thought that grabbed him and held him up as Kitt cried out his name once more before being swallowed beneath the surface.

Michael Knight turned and ran.

-o-o-o-


	3. Drowning

Title:Drowning

Title:Drowning  
Series: Snapshots from 'Junkyard Dog' No.3  
Author: Gumnut  
Fandom: Knight Rider  
Characters: Kitt and Michael  
Challenge: Elfin challenged me I guess  
Rating: PG  
Summary: Kitt!  
Word count: 445  
Spoilers & warnings: Season 3  
Disclaimer: Mine? You gotta be kidding. Money? Don't have any, don't bother.  
Author's notes: I scribbled down the last half of this in an awful hurry, so it's probably not as good as it could be, but I figure after all the flailing I've been doing ove the past few days, any words will do :grrs at muse: I guess it worked, Elfin :D You focussed me for 15 minutes :D

Drowning  
Snapshots from 'Junkyard Dog' No.3  
By Gumnut  
1 Jan/8 Jan 2007

It should have been quiet, but it wasn't.

When Michael left, Kitt stopped calling his name. His driver was gone. He would not be able to hear him anyway. He fought off the desolation that realisation brought. There was no point. There was nothing Michael could do by staying and plenty he could by leaving. Logic struggled to the fore as he attempted to fight off the panic.

Panic was useless. He couldn't get out of here. _Can't get out. Can't get out!_ So there was no use wasting energy in its generation.

_Michael!_

The car was floating downwards, ever so slowly in the thick sludge. Kitt reached out with what sensors he had, trying to assess the situation. Several were already malfunctioning and he shied away from them, panic clawing his processor. _Michael!_

He wasn't there.

The comlink! He traced his partner's vital signs. He was running, his heart rate was through the roof. Michael?

"Michael!"

The heartbeat stuttered.

"Kitt?" The AI watched the readings fluctuate. Michael was borderline hysterical. He focussed on the dataflow.

Acid hissed.

"Michael." He didn't know what else to say. _Michael! Help me! Please help me! It hurts!_

"Kitt, we'll be back. We'll get you out of there." There was a tremor in Michael's voice.

"I know." Something sparked and died.

Do AIs cry?

"H-how you doing?"

If Kitt had been in a different situation his sarcasm would have dripped the acid he was currently resting in...but... _Eating, eating, eating, eatingeatingeatingeatingeateateateateateeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee..._ "Not well." The tremors in his voice had nothing to do with mechanical damage.

"Kitt, you hang in there, you hear me? " Michael's voice had tremors all of its own. Then another voice interrupted him and his vitals changed, the hysteria still there, but the running stopped. Kitt scanned frantically, but there was so much interference in the slime.

"Michael!"

"I'm here, buddy. Hang on, we're in Fran's car. I'm going to get Bonnie and Devon, so we can get you out."

One of the seals to his cabin hissed and broke. Acid dripped on the plush upholstery of Michael's driver's seat.

Kitt whimpered.

"Buddy? Kitt, you there?"

"I am."

"You're going to be okay, I promise."

"I don't know, Michael." He couldn't help it. His attention was diverted to the quickly increasing drip inside his cabin. His internal sensors became cluttered with fumes. The thought of Michael being trapped in here with him...

"You will be! You hear me, Kitt? We'll get you out, clean you up and you'll be as good as new." The tremor in Michael's voice had almost become a shake.

"Yes, Michael." _Michael! Help me!_

And then the Trans Am hit bottom.

-o-o-o-


	4. Skidding

Title: Skidding

Title: Skidding  
Series: Snapshots from 'Junkyard Dog' No.4  
Author: Gumnut  
Fandom: Knight Rider  
Characters: Kitt and Michael  
Challenge: Elfin challenged me I guess  
Rating: PG  
Summary: Kitt!  
Word count: 729  
Spoilers & warnings: Season 3  
Disclaimer: Mine? You gotta be kidding. Money? Don't have any, don't bother.  
Author's notes: Still as rough as buggery, but hey, it's fic :D

Skidding  
Snapshots from 'Junkyard Dog' No.4  
By Gumnut  
8 Jan 2007

Michael had never run so hard in his life. Fran struggled to keep up with him, her baffled questions bouncing off the panic in his brain.

"Where's your car?"

"Michael?"

"Damnit, where's your car?" He looked about desperately for the vehicle, his eyes landing on one of the trucks in the junkyard. He could hotwire...

"Over there-"

He took off at a run once more.

"Michael?!" She hurried after him. They were well away from the junkyard by now, and he vaguely registered her puzzlement at his continued urgency.

But then-

"Michael!"

His name in a much more familiar voice stopped him in his tracks. Fran collided with him and almost fell over. He ignored her. "Kitt?"

"Michael." The AI's voice was laced with static, tremulous.

Michael didn't have time to stop, but his hand wrapped around his comlink as if he was afraid it was going to fall off his wrist as he once again took off. "Kitt, we'll be back. We'll get you out of there.

Defeated calm. "I know."

_Oh, Kitt, please hang on, buddy, hang on!_ Michael stumbled over a bush that came out of nowhere and tangled in his feet. "H-How you doing?" He had to ask. He was terrified of what Kitt would be going through.

The AI didn't answer immediately and as Michael finally made it to Fran's van, mentally cursing her need to park it so far away. If she had parked closer, he and Kitt would have been aware of her presence and none of this would have happened.

"Not well." Kitt's voice was trembling.

Michael's heart cracked. "Kitt, you hang in there, you hear me?"

"Michael, for god's sake, will you wait up?'

He turned to face her, his face flushed with emotion. "Give me your keys." It wasn't a question, it was a demand and when Fran hesitated, he repeated it louder. "Give me the damn keys."

She stared at him wide eyed, but handed over the keyring. He grabbed them and jumped into the van, barely waiting for Fran to catch up and join him. The vehicle roared as he slammed it into gear and threw up half the hill behind them as he tore off down the road.

"Michael!"

"I'm here, buddy. Hang on, we're in Fran's car. I'm going to get Bonnie and Devon, so we can get you out." _Hang on._ Michael drove like a hellion, heading for the nearest town and its telecommunications.

His comlink whimpered.

"Buddy? Kitt, you there?" One hand on the wheel, the other holding the comlink close to his voice. Fran continued to stare at him and he vaguely noted the fear in her eyes. She clutched at the dash and her door as he swerved.

His heart missed a couple of beats as he waited for Kitt to answer. Not for the first time, he wished the comlink would display his partner's state of health at this end as much as it did his at the other. At least then, he could see, could hang on to the reassurance that, yes, Kitt was there.

As it was, all he had to comfort him was silence. _C'mon, buddy, be there, answer me._

"I am." The two words trembled.

"You're going to be okay, I promise." All four tyres skidded and left black on the tarmac as the van hit the highway and Michael spun the wheel. Fran let out a faint squawk of fright. He'd apologise to her later.

"I don't know, Michael."

_You don't know? Of course you'll be fine. You will, you will!_ "You will be! You hear me, Kitt? We'll get you out, clean you up and you'll be good as new." _He had to be._ He dodged traffic, weaving in and out as he neared the town. He was subject to more than one car horn. _If one stupid mistake..._

"Yes, Michael."

Kitt didn't believe him, but Michael was forced to pay attention to the road as the edge of the town came up and a phone box appeared on the side of the road. All four wheels locked as he skidded on to a halt beside it and clambered out of the van, the soles of his shoes slipping on the gravel.

He grabbed the phone, his fingers punching numbers hard enough to bruise.

Kitt would be fine. He would.

He had to be.

-o-o-o-


End file.
